Goodbye November...

It's crazy that today is the last day of November!

We are sure enjoying the long holiday weekend.  It's great to have 4 days off and we love being at home with no where to go.

I took down the 'Fall' and 'Thanksgiving' things we had up around the house to make room for the 'Winter' and 'Christmas' decorations.  Cannon had a lot of things up to help us celebrate so I snapped a few pictures.

I love all of the artwork and projects he brings home!

Enjoying every moment.

Happy Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving morning at home being together, working on things, putting out a few Christmas decorations, watching TV.

We headed out to Yelm to LaNora and Paul's house in the early afternoon.  LaRae and Stacie came up, too this year and so all of Chris' siblings were together.  All of the cousins loved playing together and had fun upstairs, downstairs and outside.  They always found things to do:  coloring, playing with toys, running around, feeding the chickens, playing on the deck, watching a movie, etc.  Dinner was fabulous and everything tasted so good.  We enjoyed catching up with everyone, relaxing and eating pie, looking at the ads and watching football.

It was a good day.

Enjoying every moment.

Riding

Yesterday was another gorgeous day and you couldn't help but be outside enjoying it.  Chris worked on the back deck some, mowed the lawn and washed vehicles.  The boys played and played and played.

Cannon rode his motorcycle a lot and learned to start it on his own, which is a huge step.  He is very proud of himself.  He is very independent and just continued to ride around the yard and culd-a-sac for a long time.

Colson rode his red quad for the first time by himself.  Chris walked/ran with him for awhile, teaching him about the throttle and how to let off.  Then he went on his own for  a bit and did a great job.  He was going slow, giving it just a little throttle and doing a good job turning.

It was lots of fun watching them both!

Enjoying every moment.

Gingerbread Decorating

Cannon must have asked 45 times today when he could go to Claire's to decorate the gingerbread men.

We finally got over there after Colson woke up from his nap and the boys enjoyed playing first, visiting with Natalie and then Claire got them situated up at the counter for their decorating.

It was great to watch them.  Cannon got right to work and new exactly what he wanted to do.  Colson spent more time eating at first, but ended up doing a pretty good job...with a little help!

I loved watched them. They were so excited.  They were so into being creative.  They were very serious. They were very happy.

Thanks again Claire for taking a few hours out of your day to make Cannon and Colson's day!
 

Enjoying every moment.

Surprise Package

Today the boys received a surprise package in the mail.  It was from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and had some special treats for Cannon and Colson!

I saved it for after dinner (and actually used it to help me get them to finish up dinner quickly!)  They each took turns pulling out one thing.  Colson got to go first and he was so surprised to when he saw the pack of Sixlets candy.  I wish I could have captured the look on his face!  Cannon pulled out the note with great drawings from Grandma.  Colson pulled out one of the cars and Cannon pulled out the notepad.  The last car was for Cannon.

They immediately broke into the Sixlets and Colson started handing them out to each of us.  Cannon opened the notepad and we all gave each other the thumbs up sign.  Cannon and Colson then played wit their cars while eating Sixlets.  And Colson carried his car around all night with him....to Dan and Claire's, to Greg and Brenda's and finally into his bedroom!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the special package!

Enjoying every moment.

Proud Parent Moment

We are very proud parents for many different reasons.  Both Cannon and Colson prove to us daily how truly special and unique they are.  We often get that "proud parent" feeling over just the simplest things.

Today, Cannon received an award at the Honoring Kids Assembly.  His teacher, Mrs. Webster awarded him for "Taking Responsibility for School Work."  She talked about how he was a hard worker and had great handwriting.

Cannon was very surprised to receive the award.  We loved seeing his face and watching him listen to Mrs. Webster as she shared her comments about him.  Both Chris and I took a lot of pictures!  Cannon received a  certificate, a medal and a Mountain Meadow button.

Keep up the great work Cannon!

Enjoying every moment.

Play Dough and Getting Along

I just found this post in my drafts from earlier last week.  So I added the pictures and finished it up....

The play dough that Cannon received from his birthday was finally opened.  New stuff is always cool.  And new play dough is the best!

The boys had the best time playing together and did a great job sharing and being patient.  They waited their turn, watched each other and learned, shared and had some great laughs.

I sat back and just watched.  It was the best thirty minutes of the day.

Enjoying every moment.

6 Year Check Up

Cannon had his 6 year well check up last week.

He loved it because it was all about him....and he didn't have to get a shot!

Cannon did everything asked of him and enjoyed showing off.  He always asks to listen to his own heartbeat and the doctor always lets him!

I chuckle every visit when Cannon pulls out the stirrups.  LOL!

Cannon posed for a picture as we were leaving!  

He's growing fine and is tall!  He weigh's almost 50 pounds....about 3 oz. shy!  The doctor was impressed with everything.  :)

Enjoying every moment!

Jump Around

Saturday the boys had a great time helping to celebrate their friend Audrey's birthday.  Mandy and I teach together at school and have known each other since before Audrey was born.  She turned 3 on Friday and had her party at the bouncy house in Enumclaw.  This was the first time we had been there.  The boys had fun bouncing from one thing to the next.  Cannon was red faced and sweaty!

What a great way to celebrate.  Cannon and Colson expended a lot of energy before they ate a bowl full of ice cream and treats, which was very yummy!

Enjoying every moment!

Date Night With A 6 Year Old

Time alone with just one child is very special.
A focused time together...with no other things pulling me or my mind away.

Friday night Cannon and I went to Family Night at church.  He had a blast with all of the other kids listening to the band (as did I!)  We both laughed at the games they played and cheered for everyone.  We listened intently to a short sermon and then enjoyed a yummy chocolate chip cookie.

After church we headed up to pick up a few things at Walmart and Cannon helped pick out a gift for a birthday party we went to today.  It was fun to watch him try and decide what to buy...I think he was more interested in what he wanted, however!

Finally, we ended up at Menchies, the frozen yogurt place in Bonney Lake.  They had their $5 yogurt special going on. We each filled our cup with more than we really needed!  Cannon ate his on the way home since it was so late and I shared mine with Chris when we got home.

I had so much fun hanging out with Cannon, watching him worship, interact with others, laugh, talk, etc.  I loved talking to him just one on one and enjoyed our time together.

Enjoying every moment!

Science Center....oops Seattle Children's Museum

We enjoyed a day off today for a "grading day."  All elementary students had the day off so the teachers could work on report cards.  (unpaid, of course!)  I was close to being finished so Heather and I decided to take advantage of the day and head to the Science Center.  She has a family pass which gets us all in. However, when we arrived today, it was closed!  It must be off season and they close every Tuesday.  So we headed to the Children's Museum instead.  The kids still had a blast and loved every minute of their time playing.  Everything was "new" since we hadn't been there before.  In the two hours we were there, we only made it to half of the play areas.  I'm glad the boys didn't know there were more because they would have been disappointed!  Around lunchtime, we headed to the Center House and ate around the tables there.  It was a nice change of pace and everyone was very hungry!

All of the boys loved their play time and Heather and I enjoyed our time to catch up.

We will head to the Science Center next time!

Enjoying every moment.

A Weekend Away

We enjoyed a great family weekend in Ocean Shores.
It was much needed and all of us spent a lot of time just doing whatever we wanted.

We cruised the beach in the jeep.
We rode bikes.
We walked.
We played in the sand.
We ran from the waves.
We climbed the dunes.
We had a fire.
We roasted marshmallows.
We stayed up late.
We watched football.
We played games.
We read.
We watched a movie.
We drove to the south jetty.
We went to a bazaar.
We watched kites.
We listened to music.
We were together.
We were happy.

Enjoying every moment.

Keeping Busy

Colson is pretty strong willed.  (I wonder where he got that trait from!)

When he has set his mind on something, there's no changing it.  And if it's something that he shouldn't be doing, then get ready for a bit battle....screaming and yelling and throwing (yes, throwing!)

On this particular day, I knew it wasn't worth the battle that would ensue if I pushed it.  I chose wisely.  I needed to get dinner going and I would be way easier without a screaming child.

So I let Colson play with the sugar canister.  And a big bowl.  And a spoon.  And a small Tupperware bowl.

And I held my breath.

I got dinner finished and I only had to clean up a small bit of sugar on the counter.  (a big sigh of relief!)

Score one for mommy!

Enjoying every moment.  

Get Outside!

Even though it's definitely fall and the weather has changed for the most part, we try and take advantage of the short moments of sun and dryness to get outside.  

The fresh air does us all good. 

Last week we spent some time outside after school playing and loved every minute of it.  The boys played on the swing set, got out the wagon and some other toys that had been put away in the shed and worked on getting some energy out while having a good time.  

I like that Cannon and Colson can be entertained by the simple things.  Swings.  Climbing. Wagon.  

Enjoying every moment!